Wrapper or label assorting machine.



Patented Apr. 29, |902.

c. E. voTAw. WRAPPER 0B LABEL ASSUBTING MACHINE.

(Application filed July 20, 1901.) I

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No. 698,597. Patented Apr. 29, |902.

c. E. voTAw.

WRAPPEB 0B LABEL`ASSORT|NG MACHINE.

(Application filed July 20, 1901.)

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No. 698,597. Patented Apr. 29, I92.

c. E. voTAw. wAPPE un LABEL Assonm; umcmmz.`

(Application med July 2o, 1901.)

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A 7T ORN E YS l No. 698,597. Patented'Apr. 29, |902.

C. E. VOTAW.

WRAPPER 0R LABEL ASSURTING MACHINE.

(Appumio'med .my 2o, 1991.)

UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE E. VOTAW, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO NEWTON H. KEISTER, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

SPECIFICATION aiming part of Letters Patent No. 698,597, dated Api-n 29, 1902.

Application filed July 20,1901.`

To @ZZ whom ntay concern:

Beit known that 1, CLARENCE E. Vouw, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWrapper or Label Assorting Machines; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. 1

My invention relates to labeling-m achines, and more particularly to that variety thereof designed lto be used in connection with wrap.- pers for newspapers, dto.; and it consists, es-

sentially, in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, with such equivalents and substitutes as fall fairly within the purview of the intent and purpose of the invention.

The preferred construction to be adopted in the production or materialization of what I will for the purpose of brevity denominate as my label or wrapper classifying or assortin g machine and the accessories deemed necessary to illustrate a practical application thereof to use are exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a top plan viewof my invention complete. Figs. 2 and 3 are side elevations thereof, taken fromopposite sides. Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal section of a portion of my machine, taken on line 4L 4 of Fig. l, illustrating one of the doors in au open position. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a portion of the frame of the machine on an enlarged scale from that presented in Fig. 2 and illustrating the position of the armature when thev .the classified labels that they will be ready for immediate use.

sei-a1 N. 69,082. une modem It is well known to those in the service that railway` mail agents have so systematized their work that they have classified their eld into dierent mail-routes, each route comprehending certain sections of the country, and it therefore becomes desirable and important that newspapers sent from the point of publication to thepost-oce shall be classified to correspond with the classification of the territory covered by said routes; and with this object in view the use of my wrapper-assorting machine will be found very desirable and important for publishers of newspapers, periodicals, the., in order that each newspaper to be distributed may be promptly forwarded to its destination, thereby relieving the route agent of the work of arranging this general classification upon the mail-car, thus leaving only the fork of specific separation of the newspapers or classifying the same according to the post-office address to be performed by mail clerks having charge of the different routes.

While as above set forth theuse of my invention will prove desirable and important to publishers of newspapers, it will prove especially important and valuable to the railway mail service, inasmuch as it saves a large amount of time and excessive arduous labor, since the mail-matter will be'delivered to said agents of the Government classified practically ready to be delivered in bulk directly to the mail clerks having charge of adesignated route, leaving to said route agents only the work of specific distribution. The use of my invention will not only economize the time and service of publishers, but will also make it possible to greatly reduce the force of route agents or mail clerks after the classified publication has been delivered to the postal aup thorities by the publishers.'

.As will be hereinafter specifically set forth, my invention comprehends the employment of stencils each bearing an individual name and address and also having meansto coperate with certain devices whereby an electric circuit is closed and a local magnet energized and employed to direct the travel of individual wrappers.

For convenience in referring to the several parts of my invention and the cooperating IOS accessories numerals will be employed, of which- 1 designates suitable supporting-standards comprising the end section or support of the framework designed to carry the cooperating elements hereinafter specifically designated, the opposite end of the frame being properly supported by the legs or posts 2. The supports 1 and 2 are properly connected at their upper ends with the main or bodyv section 3, as by the extensions 4, connected to the upper ends of the standards 1 in any suitable way, and it is by means of said parts that the cooperating devices employed by me are suitably mounted and sustained in their operative positions.

The source of power is applied to the driving-wheel 5, properly mounted in suitable bearings in the upper ends of the standards l, and actuates the gears 6 and 7 by means of the arm 8, pivotally attached to the crank 9, which latter is provided with the detent 10, designed to engage the ratchet-wheel 1l, and it is by said means that the paper-feeding rollers carried upon the shafts 12 and 13 are actuated, said shafts being relatively adjusted by means of the regulating-screws 14, as is common. Upon the opposite ends of the shafts 12 and 13 I have mounted the intermeshing gears 12a and 13a, as it is by said means power is communicated to the upper rollers.

I employ a continuous strip of paper, asindicated by the numeral 15, which is passed between the paper-feeding rollers above referred to, said rollers or paper-engaging devices being designated by the numeral 16. Before passing between the rollers 16 the paper is disposed over the stencil -chute 17, which extends transversely with respect to the longitudinal plane of the machine, and each stencil is designed to be engaged by the intermittently-operating head 18, which latter is actuated or controlled by means of suitable coperating devices intermediate said head and the driving-shaft 19, the downward movement of the head 18 being so timed with respect to the movement of the stencil that each stencil will be squarely engaged by it, while the contiguous part of the strip of paper interposed between the head and the stencil will receive an impression from the stencil, said impression constituting the address upon the wrapper, inasmuch as the continuous strip of paper is severed at proper intervals to leave the address intact. It therefore becomes a problem to preserve and classify according to mail-routes or in other ways the severedr portions of the strip of paper each containing an individual name and address; and with this object in view I will now call attention to certain details of combination and construction of parts.

It will be understood that each -stencil is preferably formed with a suitable frame 20 of cardboard or other non-conducting material, the interior portion of the frame being occupied by the stencil proper, 21, of thin paper or the like bearing the name and address to be duplicated. The frame 20 is of proper width to be received by the chute comprising the guiding members 17, it being understood that suitable longitudinally-disposed recesses or grooves are formed in the inner edges of the guiding-sections or chute 17 designed to receive the edges of the frame 2O and hold it against casual upward movement, inasmuch as the stencils contained in the chute are forced to travel therethrough by any suitable feeding mechanism, and I therefore deem it 'unnecessary for the purpose of this application to refer specifically thereto. Each stencil-frame is provided with a metal rivet or the equivalent thereof, as it may, for instance, take the form of an eyelet ora staple, as indicated by the numeral 22. A plurality of said rivets or the equivalent thereof are properly located near the edge of said frame, it being understood that they shall extend entirely through the frame, and are designed to provide a necessary link for closing an electric circuit, one of said circuits being indicated by the numeral 23.

The guiding-sections 17 are rigidly supported in any preferred way by the standards 1 and are formed of some non-conducting material, while each of said sections is provided, preferably, upon its under side with a metallic contact-plate 24, held in position in any preferred way and is designed to be connected. with the electric circuit, as by the binding-post 25.

Above one end of the chute formed by the guiding-sections 17 I have disposed what I will term my contact-head 26, which is provided upon its under side with the downwardly-extending posts 27, the lower ends of which are connected to the cross-bar 2S, attached near its middle portion to the lever 29 by means of the inwardly-extending ear or bracket 28a or the equivalent thereof, said lever being controlled by the bell-crank 30, said crank being attached to the depending arm or bracket 31, comprising an extension of the head 32, within which head vertically reciprocates the shaft 33, carrying the papercutting knife 34. The bell-crank 30 is intermittently operated by the shaft 35, operatively connected to a suitable crank 36. The contact-head 26 is provided with a plurality of contact pins or terminals 37, each pin being properly insulated within suitable verticallydisposed apertures 3S, formed in said head, as by extending the pins laterally through insulating-retainers 39, a compression spring 40 being disposed around each pin 37 and connected thereto in such a manner as to dispose said pins normally downward for a purpose hereinafter made clear. Inasmuch as the contact-head 26 is vertically reciprocated through the mediation of the controlling-lever 29, as above set forth, the movement of ICO IIO

said head is so timed that it will be brought like is such that each contact-pin will engage its respective rivet and no other. It may also be stated that each stencil carries but one rivet or link 22, and it followsthat the position of said rivet determines which electric s circuit of the series of circuits connecting With the contact-pins shall be controlled by the individual stencil. In the presentinstance, as will be seen by reference `to the. drawings, I have shown a stencil-frame pro-` vided With a single rivet, the relativepost.

tion of the rivets in other stencils being indicated by dotted lines, sts-designated by the numeral 4l.

As` previously set forth, it Will `be understood that any number ofwmail-routes may be adopted, according to the `requirements of each case; but for the purpose of illustrating the application of my: invention to usewe will assume that ten routes are fixed, and. it

therefore follows that the contact-head shallA be provided with ten terminals or pins 37, While there shall be ten` separate arrangements for the rivets 22, and as each rivet controls an electric circuit Within which is located a local magnet atthe point desired I am enabled to unerringly provide that agate i shall be opened by said magnet at the proper time to receive the sheet of paper containing the address corresponding to the stencil controlling the electric circuit of said `magnet,

it being understood that the operation of the' `paper-carrying devices hereinafter speciiically referred to or the equivalent thereof shall be so timid that the severed end of the sheet of paper bearing u the impress of the stencil Will unerringly reach its destination` "at the instant thestencil giving saidpaper' the impression shall have reached-thegap in the electric circuit and closed said gap by the mediation of the pins 37and the link 22. Af-` ter the continuous strip of paper has been printed 'by the pressure-head 18 it ismovedfinward by the paper-engaging devices 16 and-` extended under the knife 34, the movement of the paper being so timed that it will be severed at points between the printed1 imu pressions placed thereon by reason of its contact with the stencil, as above described, and in order that I mayproperly classify and preserve the severed pieces of paperor individz ual Wrappers thus formed I provide a series of paper-engaging Wheels or disks.42,dis

posed in pairsone. above the other and pro`` vided upon their peripheral faceslwith `a suiti able covering of rubber. or the like, said wheels being properly journaled at suitable points insthe frame-section 3, the `upper series of wheelsbeing carried byfthe ears or extensions '43 in order that the weightofthe side .Section 3 .maybe reduced .Without impairing the rigidity and efciency thereof. In -like manner the lower edge of one of said side sections 3 may be provided with integral depending brackets 44, adapted to receive the threaded end of the depending rod 45, Whichlatter is extended at right angles to form the branch 46, said branch being adapted to sustain the pocket or Wrapper-receptacle 47, a series of saidtpockets being disposed beneath this portion of the machine, each4 pocket communicating with x the floor proper-.of the machineiby an individual door, as-hereinafter specifically set forth. `It `may be stated that the entire-door proper located between the side sections 3 is formed of a series ofgateways or'doors 48, each pivotally mounted upon a shaft 49, extending `trans-- versely through the machine, saidshaftsbeing` connected in any suitable `manner tothe side sections 3. f

Preferably upon the opposite side of the machine from that occupied b v the control- '95 nets 50, each magnet `being secured infanyling-lever29 I'attach a plurality of local mag-V suitable manner tothe side sections `3.and each being designed to coperate with its re spective gate or door 4S, inasmuch as the shaft 49 extends loosely througha suitable andas each circuit isprovided vvithva` ter.-` minal pin 37 and connected with `one of `the contact-plates 24 it is 'clearlyiobviouslthat thev circuit Willbeclosed when the contacthead isxlowered by interposing.ametalrivet i or `the equivalent between said plate andpin, thereby insuring that i the magnet .will '1 `become energized andthe armature attracted unto it, the result beingthat one of the gates.

will be openedto receive the `wrapper as the latter is i moved alongby the carrying disks or wheels 42. Y

A ny suitable device may be provided to limit the sweep ofthe armature assuring that it Will-be ,at all times reliably Within the Iield ofthe magnet,said checking device in` this instance being exemplified by theset-screw 53, extending through a threaded aperturein the earl or lug54, carried by a contiguous part of theside sec'tion or: otherwise.

10o aperture provided in the. side section and has rigidlyattached theretotheanmature 51.

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In order that the door which has been opened to receive a wrapper shall remain in an open position even after the magnet has become denergizcd,I provide the pivoted member 54a, held in place by the screw 55 and provided at one end with the recess 56, so formed and located that it will engage the lower end of the armature` l when the latter is attracted by the magnet, the opposite endv of the member 54a being slightly enlarged, as indicated by the-numeral 57, to insure that the armature-engaging end thereof shall be held 4normally elevated, and in order that the armature may be disengaged-from contact with. the member 54ft I provide the controlling-bar 58, which :is reciprocatingly mounted in any suitable manner in such position that it will lie in a plane substantially parallel with the floor of the machine, and I provide said bar at proper intervals with the pivoted counter- -poised members 59,each having the upwardlyextending fingers 60. It will be observed that each of the members 59 is so mounted by reason of'the post 6l that it may swing freely in one direction, but cannot pass the vertical plane in the opposite direction, and I utilize this mounting of said member to elevate the enlarged end of the member 54u and incidentally depress the outer end thereof, so that it will pass out of engagement with the armature 5l and release said armature and permit the door 48 to close by gravity, it being seen that the pivot-point of the -door is upon one side of the center thereof.

The controlling-bar 58 is operatively connected to the source of power bythe link or shaft 62, as it is by means'of said link that said bar is reciprocated within its bearings, the movement of the bar being properly timed so that the door will be reliably closed after thev wrapper designated for said door has passed into its receptacle.

I have shown by dotted lines, as-indicated by the numeral 63, the position of one of the members 59 when the bar 58 has been withdrawn sufficiently to bring the linger 60 into engagement with and past the downwardlycurved extension 64, it being understood that the member 59 will yieldingly move upon its pivot-point when the bar 58 is moved in an opposite direction, so as to bring the finger 60 in engagement with said extension 64.

It will be understood that the several wires forming the plurality of circuits may be readily incorporated With each other as by disposing the same Within a suitablecovering or tube in order lthat the wires may be more conveniently and safely disposed out of the way.

In order to facilitate the movement of the severed pieces of paper or individual wrappers as they pass from the knives to the paper-engaging disks, I provide the delivering table or member 65, formed of any suitable material, as sheet metal, and provided upon its upper surface witha plurality of inwardly Aand upwardly inclined teeth or corrugations 66 and also provided upon each end with a suitable ear 67, which is pivotally connected to the depending arm 68, the upper end of which is rigidly secured to the rock-shaft 69, extending across the machine and mounted in suitable bearings 70. In order that the shaft 69 may be actuated, I rigidly connect to the outer end thereof the crank-arm 7l, which is pivotally connected at its outer end tto the link-section '72, the lower end of which is connected to the controlling-lever 29,`as by the bolt or rivet 78, it being understood that said lever is pivotally attached to one of the members 44, whereby :it may have at its opposite end the requisite upward and downward movement necessary to operate the contact-head 26. By thus pivotally connecting the member 65 to the rock-shaft 69 it is ob` vious that said member will be reciprocated laterally, its movement being properly regulated ortimed, whereby it will move toward the knife as the latter severs an individual wrapper from the continuous sheet of paper, the said wrapper falling upon said table, and as the table is moved away from the knife it will be delivered into engagement with the disks 42. The length of the wrapper being greater than the width of the table insures that one edge of the wrapper will project beyond the table sufficiently to permit the same to be engaged by the first pair of feedingdisks 42,said disks being so mounted that they will engage the edges of the wrapper and pass the same from pair to pair of said disks Auntil an open door is reached. I further facilitate the movement of the individual wrappers and prevent undue curling or buckling thereof by a series of wires or the equivalent Ar74, extending from end to end of the machine slightly above the surface of the series of doors or vgateways 4S. The door-section of the machine intermediate the first gateway and the knife is formed of a plurality of iingers 75, firmly secured at their inner ends and directed outward, lying immediately beneath the member 65.

While I `have described the preferred combination and construction of the parts deemed necessary in materializing myinvention,I desire to comprehend in this application all substantial equivalentsV and substitutes thereof, inasmuch as various modifications and changes may be made without materially departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a suitable frame, paperfeeding rollers and driving mechanism therefor, ofa knife adapted to sever the continu- -ous strip of paper into predetermined lengths and suitable coperating mechanism to receive the individual labels and deliver them into a receptacle according to a desired classification, a plurality of stencils and electrical ICO IOS

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devices all substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a machine of the character specified; a suitable frame, paper-feeding rollers and driving mechanism therefor, a stencil-chute and a plurality of stencils coperating there- With; a knife adapted to sever said strip of. paper into individual labels and carrying;

having a plurality of` pins forming the other terminal of said circuitand means to cause the registration of an individual pin with its respective rivet whereby a circuit will be closed and said magnet energized, all combined as specified and for the purpose set forth. i

4. In a label or Wrapper asserting machine, the combination with a suitable frame, a plurality of stencils, and electrical devicesof a paper-cutting blade; means to operate said i blade and additional means to engage the individual labels formed by theknife and convey the same` to a receptacle designed to receive it as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In alabel printing and assorting machine, a suitable frame; a plurality of stencils; means to force said strip of paper in engagementwith each stencil; alocal magnet; aconveyer-chute; means to engage each individual label or `wrapper and additional means carried by the stencil-frame adapted toppen and close an electric circuit, all combined as and for the purpose set forth. s t

6. In a wrapper or label printing andasi sorting machine,asuitableframe; aplurality of stencils of non-conducting material having an electric conducting portion; a guideway for said stencils; a contact-plate carried by said guideway; a movable contact-head having a plurality of circuit-terminals andimeans to cause the registration of an individual pin with the metallic part of said stencil-frame whereby an electric circuit will be closed and a local magnet will be energized all combined w cils, a contact-plate and pins carried thereby iand electrical connections 5` a plurality of local substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth. M

7. In a machine of the character specified, a suitable frame; paper-feeding mechanism; a stencil-chute and a plurality of stencils and means to feed said stencils through said chute, in combination with additional means` to press a part of said paper in engagement with an individual stencil ;.a contact-head having a plurality of circuit-terminals; `means carried by the stencils to form an electric connection between said terminals and said contact-plate; suitable means to sever said strip `of paper into suitable lengths and label-receiving devices designed to take each individual label and deliver the same within a receptacle especially designed to receive it, all substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth. i H

8. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a suitable supportingframe, of paper feeding and printing-mechanism; a knife adapted to sever the paper rint""o individual labels; means to operate `said knife; label-carrying devices; a plurality of -compartments and suitable selecting mechanism coperating with said label-carrying devices adapted to open the door of the receptacle designed to receive a specified label, all combined as specified and for the purpose set forth. I

9. In a label or Wrapper printing and asserting machine, a suitable frame; a plurality `of electric circuits and magnets; alseries of receptacles each provided` with a door; a series of stencils of non-conducting material having a metallic portion; plurality ot' pins each forming the other terminal of the electric circuit and means to-force an individual pin into engagement with the metal partof the stencil-frame wherebygthe: circuit will be closed between said pin and said contactplateand thereby energize said magnet and open a door in one of said receptacles to receive a specified label, all combined substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth.

lO. In a machine of tlielcharacterspeciiied, `a stencil-chute having a metallic contact-plate comprising one terminal of an electric circuit l and a `plurality of pinscomprising` the other terminals of the circuits, combined with a 4stencil having a frame of non-conducting material and providedwitha metallic part "and `means to force said pins downward in engagement with said frame wherebyr one of said pins `will be brought .into registration-with said metallic `portion and thereby close Aone of the electric circuits` represented, bylsaid `ipinand thus energize a magnet located therein allcombinedas specified and fnrithe purpose set forth.

y `11. In a label-assorting machine, a suitable frame; a plurality of" receptacles,ieach hav- `ing a door,- all of which Vwhenclosed will form the loorof `the machine;`a;plnrality of stenmagnets; means to operatively connect said :door withn its individual magnet and means to close the circuit of the magnet controlling the door of the receptacle designed to receive IOO IIO

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CLARENCE E. VOTAW.

Vitnesses:

LOUIS GREEN, v SETH HOWARD. 

